Catastrophes, wars, terrorism, ecological disasters, deadly diseases,
poverty ....
The list of tragedies - both personal and public - is endless. Every
day and hour media, politicians, experts - and charlatans - bring us
a never ending barrage of bad things. No wonder that many people feel
depressed and weary.
This blog tries - in a modest and personal way - to contribute to a more
balanced view. After all, there is so much to appreciate and
enjoy in life ...

Saturday, 29 June 2013

Tonight it was nice to see a Finnish cruise ship, the Kristina Katarina, in the Sound. The 138 m x 22 m ship, which is on its way to Kristiansand, is since 2010 owned and operated by the Finnish family-owned shipping company, Kristina Cruises, with over 50 years of experience in the cruise business.

Friday, 28 June 2013

The Ventrafiken ferries M/S Uraniborg (left) and M/S Stjerneborg meet close to their home port Landskrona.

The ferry service betweenLandskrona and Tycho Brahe's island Ven(Hven in Danish) in the middle of the Sound, is operated by Ventrafiken. The company uses two modern ferries, the brand new M/S Uraniborg and the recently rebuilt M/S Stjerneborg on the route. The crossing takes about 30 minutes.

The M/Stjerneborg approaching Landskrona.

A closer look at the M/S Stjerneborg, with a capacity of 247passengers and 11 cars.

The city of Landskrona is this year celebrating its 600th anniversary. The city was founded at the location of Scania's (at the time part of Denmark) best natural harbor, as a means of King Erik of Pomerania's anti-Hanseatic policy. From a visitor's point of view, the Landskrona Citadel, initially built in 1549-1559 as a purely defensive fortification, is the most interesting sight. The Citadel, with three moats, is one of Europe's largest and best preserved. During the first decades of the 20th century, the Citadel was used as a women's prison. It now serves as a museum, and can also be rented for conferences and other occasions.

This mallard hen and her two ducklings were yesterday enjoying the nice afternoon at the Landskrona Citadel. The male in the third picture could be the father, but most likely not, since about 90% of mallard drakes move on and find another mate after the hen's eggs are close to hatching. Fortunately, the hen is well capable of looking after the ducklings without the drake.

Nearby a baby herring gull was waiting for the food service to continue:

Early this morning (about 5 AM) tugboat Baltsund was towing the former missile boat of the Royal Danish Navy, HDMS Sehested (P547) towards Copenhagen. The 46 m x 7.4 m P547, which was on active duty in 1978 - 2000, now serves as a museum ship at the Royal Danish Naval Museum. The boat is now returning to the museum from Assens, where it has been in for service and repairs.

Wednesday, 26 June 2013

The top of the medieval Kärnantower is the highest publicly accessible point in Helsingborg. The view over to the city to Helsingør on the Danish side, as well as to other directions, is simply breathtaking. A climb up the steep stairs of the tower is strongly recommended if you plan to visit Helsingborg!

The Danish cruise ferry Crown Seawaysis together with the other Copenhagen - Oslo ferry, the Pearl Seaways, perhaps the most often seen commercial ship in the Sound. The Crown appears in some of my previous pictures, but I thought that now is the time to publish a couple of fresh shots of the 171 m x 28 m vessel. They are from last night.

Tuesday, 25 June 2013

Mezzo Jame Barton, "the Georgia farm girl", who won the Cardiff Singer of the World 2013 crown.

"The Georgia farm girl who yesterday won the prestigious BBC Cardiff Singer of the World crown". That is how Iowa Public Radio described the winner of the 30th anniversary Cardiff Singer of the World competition, mezzo soprano Jamie Barton, who also carried off the song prize. (I was particularly pleased that she chose to sing Var det en dröm? (Was it a dream?), one of Sibelius's finest songs, which sadly is not performed very often by non-Scandinavian singers).

Argentina's Daniela Mack could also have won.

All the five finalists were outstanding talents, and the prize could very well had gone to e.g. the Argentinian mezzo Daniela Mack or the Croatian bass baritone Marko Mimica. I also liked the expressive singing and the personality of Italian soprano Teresa Romano. Of the two studio expert commentators, voice coach Mary King was the clearly more helpful and appreciative. First Singer of the World winner Karita Mattila seemed to have only one comment about Barton and the other finalists - "more color".

Italian soprano Teresa Romano has a strong personality and a fine voice.

Last night I shot these pictures of the gorgeous Dutch yacht Flipje - a Beneteau Oceanis 58- in the Helsingborg marina. Flipje, is the mascot of the Dutch city of Tiel, where you can find a statue, and even a museum, dedicated to this figure, which was associated with a once famous jam factory.

PS
If you would like to charter a Beneteau Oceanis 58, I noticed the e.g. the Blue Passion is available at Simpson Bay, Tortola.